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How The Data Center Market Is Shifting

June 27, 2017September 13, 2017

Once upon a time, renting a data center was a lot like leasing a storage locker. You were basically renting a room with electricity for your servers, with a convenient location near a network hub, and probably in a temperature controlled setting. But today, storing servers isn’t the only thing that customers do. They demand more than just storage, and even demand more than cooling and power these days. They want a fleet of options in order for them to stay current and flexible in the ever-changing data center market. And for those who have been affected by legacy infrastructure investments, this applies even more.

Powerhouse Players Are Created by Acquisitions and Mergers

Cloud services are just starting the consolidation phase because they are still a relatively young industry. The diversification of a provider’s offerings through more strategic partnerships is something that those providers are finding extremely useful today. At the same time, users are asking for increased flexibility and options.

Fortunately, this is a win-win situation. It allows buyers a one-stop shopping opportunity. These buyers are eager to spend less time dealing with vendors and more time and effort on their concerns involving business. Customers need to feel secure through a developed relationship with their data center providers. Exclusive vendors can better meet the ever-changing needs of their customers. These vendors become singularly familiar with the customer’s business, thereby being better equipped to devise solutions that are customized and unique.

Increase Options and Create Transparency

The biggest draw for some buyers is not having to replace hardware that is aging. Not so attractive, however, is the coordination of the transition. Many data center providers have moved toward contracts that are more flexible. Even so, the needs of the company will experience a temporary mismatch with the services for which they are paying. And because IT budgets are getting smaller and smaller, this point should not be overlooked.

Data Center Infrastructure Management software’s rise can be directly attributed to that. It is beneficial to both the data center providers and the customers. To lessen the problem of a company getting away from ‘colo’ and, instead, using ‘cloud’, a provider must offer flexible provisioning.

Cloud Investments Pressured by Transitions

If a business was small enough or young enough, the way to go was clearly through a Cloud-First strategy. As market portions go, it is a not-insubstantial one. Many more customers, however, began with their very own data centers. They then changed over to colocation, albeit very cautiously. Now, they are anticipating eventually making the move to the cloud… stressing the word “eventually”.

But, as we all know, there are trade-offs everywhere you look in business and in life. Transactions that people seem to find the most difficult are those between what will undoubtedly (or most likely) provide a better future and the present day, more comfortable option. Change is hard, and many distrust the very thought of it. Particularly when, as in many cases, getting to that future point involves money, effort, and a lot of time.

At ANEXIO, we believe that the data center market, though still shifting, is moving in a decidedly positive direction. In the future, it will offer less risk and be more streamlined. Let us know if you would like to find out more about how we can put you ahead in the data center market.